By: Ben Joubert
February 26, 2016
A while ago, I was sitting in a restaurant with my parents and siblings, and on the wall we saw a funny poster. On the poster it said, "Heaven is where: The French are the chefs, the Italians are the lovers, the British are the police, the Germans are the mechanics, and the Swiss make everything run on time." Just below all that was another section, and it read, "Hell is where: the British are the chefs, the Swiss are the lovers, the French are the mechanics, the Italians make everything run on time, and the Germans are the police." I find in any hobby, or pretty much anything people do to keep themselves busy with, there are particular people or manufacturers you will go to for the specific parts you need, and this is no different in the PC enthusiast world. We all know which components we like from what manufacturers. Most builds will feature an Intel processor and an NVIDIA graphics card. Of course, there are many disagreements on which parts are best, and how they complement each other, but most enthusiasts will agree Noctua makes some of the best PC cooling products in the market today. Today, we have four different fan models to review; namely, the Noctua NF-A14 Industrial PPC 24V and NF-F12 Industrial PPC 24V fans, each of which has a 2000 RPM and 3000 RPM version as well. To go along with these fans, the good people in Austria sent over some anti-vibration pads and anti-vibration mounts, which are the NA-SAVP1 and NA-SAV2, respectively. Will we find the same quality and performance we have come to expect from Noctua? Read on to find out!
Our package arrived all the way from Austria to another cold north nation here in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The box was wrapped in tape to ensure it does not open unintentionally, or if someone tampers with it, it will be noticed. Most of the corners were a bit beat up, but no real other damage on the outside of the box otherwise. It is always a relief when a shipment from so far away arrives in decent condition. I continued to open up the shipping box, and I was happy to see the contents inside are also in good condition.
Inside the shipping box, we find the four fans and many different colors of the anti-vibration mounts. I only included the white version of the anti-vibration mounts in the photo above, just because there would be too many boxes in the picture if I included all the available colors -- and trust me, we got all of them. The packaging is very simple; the box just flaps open. Inside is the fan in a cardboard cutout, which ensures it does not move around. Taking out the cardboard cutout reveals four included screws in a little plastic bag. Nothing else is found within the fan packaging. A similar story goes in the anti-vibration mount boxes. The only difference is with the NA-SAV2 comes with some instructions on how to use it. However, using them are very intuitive. Lastly, on the back of the fan packaging are all the specifications for the product.
Here are some specifications, as obtained from the manufacturer's website:
Noctua NF-F12 IndustrialPPC PWM 2000 RPM Specifications:
Size: 120x120x25 mm
Connector: 4-Pin PWM
Bearing: SSO2
Blade Geometry Heptaperf™
Frame Technology FocusedFlow™
Rotational Speed (+/- 10%) 2000 RPM
Min. Rotational Speed (PWM, +/-20%) 750 RPM
Rotational Speed @ 12V (+/- 10%) 1600 RPM
Airflow: 121.8 m³/h
Acoustical Noise: 29.7 dB(A)
Static Pressure: 3.94 mm H₂O
Max. Input Power: 4,32 W
Max. Input Current: 0,18 A
Voltage: 24 V
MTBF > 150.000 h
Warranty: 6 years
Noctua NF-F12 IndustrialPPC PWM 3000 RPM Specifications:
Size: 120x120x25 mm
Connector: 4-Pin PWM
Bearing: SSO2
Blade Geometry Heptaperf™
Frame Technology FocusedFlow™
Rotational Speed: (+/- 10%) 3000 RPM
Min. Rotational Speed: (PWM, +/-20%) 750 RPM
Rotational Speed @ 12V (+/- 10%) 1600 RPM
Airflow: 186,7 m³/h
Acoustical Noise: 43,5 dB(A)
Static Pressure: 7,63 mm H₂O
Max. Input Power: 4,32 W
Max. Input Current: 0,18 A
Voltage: 24 V
MTBF > 150.000 h
Warranty: 6 years
Noctua NF-A14 IndustrialPPC PWM 2000 RPM Specifications:
Size: 140x140x25 mm
Connector: 4-Pin PWM
Bearing: SSO2
Blade Geometry A-Series with Flow Acceleration Channels
Frame Technology AAO
Rotational Speed: (+/- 10%) 3000 RPM
Min. Rotational Speed: (PWM, +/-20%) 800 RPM
Rotational Speed @ 12V (+/- 10%) 1800 RPM
Airflow: 182.5 m³/h
Acoustical Noise: 31.5 dB(A)
Static Pressure: 4.18 mm H₂O
Max. Input Power: 7,92 W
Max. Input Current: 0,33 A
Voltage: 24 V
MTBF > 150.000 h
Warranty: 6 years
Noctua NF-A14IndustrialPPC PWM 3000 RPM Specifications:
Size: 140x140x25 mm
Connector: 4-Pin PWM
Bearing: SSO2
Blade Geometry A-Series with Flow Acceleration Channels
Frame Technology AAO
Rotational Speed: (+/- 10%) 3000 RPM
Min. Rotational Speed: (PWM, +/-20%) 800 RPM
Rotational Speed @ 12V (+/- 10%) 1800 RPM
Airflow: 269,3 m³/h
Acoustical Noise: 41,3 dB(A)
Static Pressure: 10,52 mm H₂O
Max. Input Power: 7,92 W
Max. Input Current: 0,33 A
Voltage: 24 V
MTBF > 150.000 h
Warranty: 6 years
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware
3. Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
